alright all, just thought id tell you whats happend to me this weekend.
firstly i got pulled routine (as you do) to get told my mot was out by 4 days so it ended 30/9/09. so they gave me a producer. only to get home and look thru the previous certificates and find that it's nov 30/11/09. Realising i have'nt got the very last certificate (didnt get it when i got the car) the cetificates for the last 10 years state the 11 month which is november. Anyways goes tonite to the local station with mot's they said " only the previous mot certificate will prove you have an mot" Is i dont have this they will prosicute me unless i get it mot'd within the 7 day period. Am fuming at the fact of i didnt realise it was due or i would have had it done. I dont see the point in driving without everything in check as you only get caught no matter how long you get away with it. So as from tomorrow i have to get the car in for an mot, have work done whatever needs doing on it and have a pass certificate be next sat or i will be faceing a summons to court.
I completly admitt if i had known i would of had it in for an mot no probs, just aswell i went tonite and not left it untill the week as i would seriously be getting my ass chewed.

I've been done for no mot...you can plead guilty by post(when you get the summons)and it will be a £50 fine for no MOT and £20 court costs..£70 total...no points..and no criminal record,and that's the end of it.

on that note is it cheaper to run the risk of no mot, and if caught just pay the £70, cheaper than getting an mot if loads of work needs doing?

Lucky mate, at least you ahve 7 days to deal with it.

If you need any work doing for a re-test I'll give you a hand.

I was driving around without an MOT for 3 months before I realised I didn't have one, luckily never got stopped and got it straight in for an MOT

You can check it online http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/ if this will help.

Ive never understood how people can forget their MOT dates. For me, its something I prepare for a few months beforehand, incase there is anything needs doing. Dont get why people leave it till a week before the MOT expires, take the car in and find it fails, and then moan they only have a few days to get it sorted.

I'm the same as your self Matt, currently planning right now for my MOT in december, I need new tyres and brake pads which will be completed next month, I always make sure the legal suff for my car is in order, I do not want any hassel from the boys in blue.

one thing to keep in mind you can have your MOT done just under 1 months prior to the current expiring, it should say on the current MOT cert what the earliest date it can be done with out losing a month on the current MOT

plus you get a reminder on your car tax reminder when the mot needs to be done

hope you get it sorted out swift mate

Chris

Yeah, the other thing is, just because your car is safe at MOT time, one should really be keeping it safe all the time. Just because a car passes it's MOT, that does not mean it will be road-safe for the next 12/13 months, just that it is at an acceptable standard at the time.

The police and VOSA reguarly do random checks on cars, and they can take a car off the road if it does not meet MOT standards/it is not in a roadworthy condition - you can even recieve a penalty for it. They may even be able to revoke the MOT and force you to obtain a new one. I would have thought VOSA could do this during on of their tests.

So its in peoples interests to have an MOT-standard car at al times anyway. The way to look at it, is things are going to need doing at some point for the next MOT anyway, so you may as well just get them done as soon as you have the time and money to do so. Then come MOT time, you should have less to worry about.

Also, one defective component on a car, can potentially lead to premature wear and tear on other components. So putting off a job till MOT time, could actually cost you a lot more money in the long term.

Some people have more than 1 vehicle and can get dates mixed up quite easily.


some people just dont have the money for it until the last week before it's due.

Thats not very useful if your tax is due 6 months before your MOT

In my case, I just misjudged how long 12 months actually was, easy mistake to make, but still no excuse for not having an MOT.

Your telling me people save up for 12 months to get their MOT Joe? Wtf, can they really afford to be owning a car in that case lol.

People who can afford to buy, tax, insure and run a car, can afford to have the jobs done when they need doing (im not saying within a few days of a problem becoming apparent, but within a couple of months at least).

And, my MOT is due on August 19th. On the 420 its due on November 22nd. Jeeze on my 306 if I still had it, it would have been due in September. How hard is it for people to remember one month out of 12.

All MOT's also come with window stickers if you are that forgetful lol.

Ignorance is no excuse.

I try and keep my car as road worthy as possible, checking blubs, tyre tread e.t.c every week, but one thing my car always fails on every MOT is suspension because it's lowered.

The problem is, I have to spend at least £60 on suspension parts every MOT and the sooner I change these, the sooner they go. So if I change them 4 months before an MOT is due, I'll have to buy new parts for the MOT aswell.

If its failing the MOT on these parts and they are failing every 4 months, and you only get them done at MOT time, then you must be driving around with a legally un-roadworthy car for 8 months out of every 12 then.

Not good, especially if you know you are doing it.

I understand that evryone who has a car needs to know when there mot is due, but its easy to forget birthdays, MOT's are no different its a date. As i said it was 4 days out, not months which i could understand a person delebrately not having an MOT for what ever reason.

I just didnt realise it was up an honist mistake.
As i have been given a producer i have 7 days - 2 now to have the car MOT'd and have work done before the producer is up. I completley agree with u matt that i should of new when the MOT was up, but unfortunatley i have been buisy latley.

Jo thanx for that offer on help doing the work, will let you know waht needs doing ( if anything ) and shal give you a shout.
All in all i made a mistake and now have to pay for it literaly lol no i dont mined having to pay out on the car as i have evrything else insurance tax just got to keep ontop of it.

Am I right in thinking that if you are not MOT'd then you aren't insured either?

...it's one thing remembering when an MOT is due for one car or even 2 but some of us have 10 to 15 cars a year...try remembering all them...haha

Could not agree more, on my last service I was advised I would need new pads and rear tyres by the next service and this was based on me doing 12k over the year up to my last service/MOT, I've only done 4k in the last 11months so I could get away with not doing them but while the car is in the garage getting a service/mot I may as well have them done as peace of mind, and we all know and (hope) do are weekly/monthly checks on are cars before we use them.

I know it's easy to forget a birthday, but we never forget are own or maybe some of us do LOL!!, to me that's the same as the mot and tax on my car, I need that car for my work and with out it I'd be with out a job, I'd say most of us have a mobile phone with a calendar in it, easy to pop a reminder in there, I have a memory like a cullender these days.

One thing on my mind though is if any of use were unfortunately to be stopped and given a 7day producer and the car failed the mot and you struggled to get the work sorted before the 7days were up because it either a big job/hard to get parts or you didn’t have the funds to cover the work, what would the boys in blue do ??.

anyways no harm done and I would guess it's a reminder to us all to check and make sure our mot's are done on time.

Did you do this? Also, if you phone VOSA i am sure that they give you a replacement certificate, probably at a small cost.

I do, and I know a lot of other people that do. Some people can't afford to budget for £160+ out of a months wages.


Thats why ive got mine up now lol

I agree.


but nothing I can do about speed bumps and pot holes and un-even roads.

You could try anti-grav technology...

We were doing a night even round the back of Liverpool last night, Skem / Burscough last night - there are some very bad roads up there - car even bottomed out a few times

Tip - when approching a hump back bridge, look for sump marks near the crest - will give you an idea of what the drop will be like on the other side

Maybe, but my car (420 that is, havent had the 75 long enough) doesnt seem to have suspension problems all the time.

Obviously, your suspension setup is too low/wearing too quick - if you can't afford to keep it safe and legal at all times, its advisable to revert to an OEM setup.

The same as you would agree im sure, if someone can't keep their car safe and legal, they are best not owning one.

Now emissions problems, I can understand why people only worry about them at MOT time, they aint gonna harm anyone or anything (unless fumes are getting in the car itself lol).

greenpeace would disagree with that Matt!! a non working cat is killing the planet!!...albeit,very slowly!

Yer, ill remind them of that fact when they are ploughing around on their diesel powered boats

Besides, im a big fan of Global Dimming. It stops global warming, and cat's cause havoc for it.

Joe,sounds like you need coilovers, polly bushes and maybe adjustable arms mate

I try to keep my car safe and legal at all times, as I'm sure a lot of other people do.

Problem is, I aint gunna get under my car after every journey and check my suspension, and check the play in ball joints.

So what if one of your bulbs has gone i.e. headlight, tail light e.t.c, or you're saying these people shouldn't own a car??

matt lfc should just keel over and die!!! stop pickin on joe

No, im not saying that, im saying people who can't afford to get them replaced. If someone can't afford to maintain the car to at least MOT standard at all times, then you have to agree, they can't afford the car. If they could'nt afford a new bulb, they should rethink thier life lmao!!

One of the main reasons I never went for an S-Type was the increased service costs of one over the 75. I can afford it, but didnt want to, so chose something I am happy to pay the money to maintain. Same with the 75 CDTi, you may remember I was originally gonna get one as I loved the L-Series torque of my 420, but when I seriously looked into it, I realised far too many things go wrong on them, with BMW costs everytime they do, whereas the Rover K-Series and KV6 lumps in comparison generally suffer one or two well known and documented problems and are relatively cheap and cheerful (simple engines) to get fixed, and service.

People just have to realise, they can't have everything if they can't afford it, as much as we would all like to.

Technically the MOT is only valid on the day of issue.

In the eyes of the law there are certain things that are expected to last a year between MOTs and basic things the owner is expected to be responsible for like tyres - hence the points and fine if you dont keep on top of them.

You cant expect every car owner to do their own mock MOT on their car every month.

Saying that though, what needs replacing on the car that Often Joe? Lowering shouldnt really cause anything more major than uneven tyre wear, and bushes and ball joints should last a few years - even on lowered cars

Another good reason for buying a Rover is you automatically qualify for membership into the PASOC...pipe and slippers owners club!!

Your saying they would'nt have let me in with an S-Type phase 2?

...I will ask my mate..he also is in the PASOC!

Tar will be good to know for future reference.

exactly that.

drop links, bushes and ball joints.

I change the drop links every 6 months anyway.

At least one of the bushes, ball joints or drop links need replacing every MOT